What is Sinigang sa Bayabas?
Sinigang means “to stew in souring agents.” “Bayabas” is the Tagalog (Filipino language) term for guava fruit. Therefore, sinigang sa bayabas means to stew with guavas. Sinigang sa bayabas is a Filipino dish.
This recipe uses overripe guavas. Do we call overripe guavas “fresh?” For the purpose of this recipe, the answer is “yes.” They are fresh guavas, however, ripened to the hilt; those that are closed to being ditched. Believe it or not, they are the perfect guavas for sinigang. The older the better – I like the way that statement sounds.
The most popular sinigang sa bayabas is bangus, or milk fish as it is otherwise known. The sinigang sa bayabas can also call for meats and other seafood.
Ingredients for Sinigang sa Bayabas
If you have cooked sinigang (or if you’re familiar with the dish), the only ingredient you would need to substitute here is bayabas as opposed to other souring agents such as tamarind, calamansi, lemon, etc.). The rest of the ingredients are almost the same fresh ingredients that make sinigang particularly delicious:
- onions
- tomato
- souring agent (yes, ripe guavas this time)
- Green beans or string beans
- white radish
- kangkong (water spinach)
- serrano chilis (siling panigang)
fish sauce (patis)
- cups of water
- taro roots (optional, but provide wonders to sinigang sa bayabas)
How to Make Sinigang na Bangus sa Bayabas
As in any sinigang recipes, we simply throw the ingredients in the water on a pot with the souring agent – however in a particular order – until they are cooked through. Sounds simple? It is!
- Boil medium onion, medium tomatoes, and guavas with two cups of water in a cooking pot until the guavas begin to tear.
- Scoop the guavas onto a bowl, and add about a cup of soup water from the casserole. Mash the guavas then return them to the pot. You may want to strain and get only the juice.
- Add the milk fish and the rest of the ingredients, except kangkong, and cook over medium heat until the fish is done.
- Add the kangkong during the last 2-3 minutes of cooking.
Cooking Sinigang in Four Simple Steps
It is easy to remember cooking sinigang as it is almost always in four simple steps:
- stewing ingredients including the souring agent
- adding the fish (or meat)
- adding the vegetable ingredients, except the green leaves (kangkong in this case)
- spices and aromatics
Serving Suggestion
Sinigang sa bayabas is best paired with steamed rice.
This dish can serve as an appetizer or soup as well, i.e., eat it as is. Make sure that the soup is hot – according to your taste. Discover the difference of the sourness in this dish as compared with other sinigang! It has some suggestion of sweetness from the guava as its soup base.
You may want to season it with salt at the serving stage. As for me, I season with fish sauce (this is an indulgence, according to my hubby).
Cooking Tips:
- Use Mama Sita’s sinigang mix! (well, come on, why not?)
- Using radish with bayabas is a matter of taste. Your choice of vegetables, therefore varies, but that is fine.
- Using overripe guava makes sinigang extract deliciously sour. Green guavas are not good for sinigang at all.
- A tablespoon fish sauce adds flavor to broth.
- Green chili is optional in sinigang sa bayabas, though necessary in other sinigang recipes.
- Baby spinach is a good alternative, if kangkong is not readily available.
- Ah, yes, I do not use black pepper in sinigang.
Storing Leftover Sinigang
Store leftover sinigang in an airtight container in the fridge and eat the following day. All sinigangs are best on the same day, or the following day max.
Sinigang na Bangus sa Bayabas Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Method: cooking
- Cuisine: Filipino
Description
Bangus or milkfish cooked in overripe guavas as souring agent.
Ingredients
- 1 whole bangus (milkfish)
- 1 medium-sized onion quartered
- 1 medium-sized tomato quartered
- 6–9 pcs overripe guavas (bayabas)
- 250 g green beans or string beans (sitaw cut into 3-inch pieces)
- a few pcs okra (optional)
- 1 medium-sized radish, peeled and sliced
- 1 bunch kangkong
- 4 tbsps patis (fish sauce – optional)
Instructions
- Boil onion, tomatoes and guavas in a casserole or pot until the guavas begin to tear.
- Scoop the guavas onto a bowl, add about a cup of soup water from the casserole. Mash the guavas then return them to the pot. You may want to strain and get only the juice.
- Add the milk fish and the rest of the ingredients, except kangkong (romaine lettuce), and cook until the fish is done – around 15 minutes.
- Add the kangkong and heat for just a couple of minutes.
- Serve.
